


6 Swans

by Aurone



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 18OI AU Week (Yuri!!! on Ice), 18OI AU Week 2020: Day 1, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Curses, Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24482731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: Prince Yuuri watches in horror as his court is turned into swans.  Now it up to Yuuri to find a way to break the curse.  And there is also the matter of King Victor who has taken an interest in the prince.Based on the Grimm's Fairytale Six Swans.Written for 18OI AU week 2020 Day 1: Fantasy/Fairy tale/Mythology
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 22
Kudos: 36
Collections: 18OI AU Week 2020





	1. The Curse

Yuuri woke to chaos in the corridors of his castle. He could hear Minami yelling.

“Run, Yuuri, run!”

Yuuri, fearing some sort of attack on the castle, pulled on a shirt and britches and ran out in the hall just in time to see a witch turn poor Minami into a swan. Yuuri turned on his heel and ran to the secret passage leading out of the castle. He entered the passage and ran down the tight corridor until it ended. When he crawled out of the passage, he found himself outside the walls of the castle. 

_Where can I go? I need to hide. The woods. I’ll go hide in the woods. Surely she won’t follow me there._

Yuuri ran into the woods beyond the castle. He had hunted in these woods many times so he was comfortable in the forest. 

_I’ll go to the hunting lodge. We keep some supplies there and hopefully, it will be safe._

He walked the rest of the night and far into the next day before he reached the hunting cabin 

that was tucked away in the woods. 

_It seems a lot closer when you are riding a horse. I hope she can’t find me out here._

He sat down in a chair in the common room. He put his head in his hands. He was exhausted. 

_I don’t know what happened to my friends, my court. Did she kill them? I saw her turn Minami into a swan. Did she do the same to the others? Are they dead? And if not, how can I help them?_

He cried for his friends and for his kingdom. Exhausted from walking and from crying, he lay down under the bed. He was hidden from view and felt safe enough to let his weary body rest. He was asleep in no time. Later that evening he heard a commotion in front of the cabin. It sounded like a flock of swans. He cautiously looked out of the window of the cabin to see six swans standing outside the cabin. The swans began to blow feathers off of one another and seem to take off some kind of shirt and then they were human again. It was all six members of Yuuri’s court: Leo, Guang-Hong, Yuri, Otabek, Phichit, and Minami. 

Yuuri ran out of the cabin as he exclaimed, “You are all okay! I was so worried about you, my friends.”

Yuri said, “We are still alive but we are stuck as these fucking swans.”

Yuuri replied, “But you are human now.”

Phichit clarified, “We are human for 20 minutes every evening. The rest of the time we remain as swans.”

Yuuri said, “That’s terrible. Is there any way we can reverse the curse?”

Otabek replied, “Not that we know of, my prince.”

Phichit said, “I know that there is a wise woman who lives on the edge of the woods. Maybe she would know how to break the curse.”

Yuuri said, “I shall go there and ask her.”

Minami said, ‘We can’t ask you to do that, my prince. What if something happens to you along the way? What if the wise woman is really a worker of dark magicks?”

Yuuri said, “I’ll just have to chance it. I am not letting you live your lives as swans. Not if I can do something about it.”

Guang-Hong said, “But what if something happens to you? We couldn’t live with the fact that you came to harm because of us.”

Leo added, “Yes, we are supposed to be protecting you. Not the other way around.”

Yuuri said, “You are just going to have to trust me on this one. I want to do this for you. I couldn’t stand it if you all were cursed to be swans forever.”

Otabek sighed. “Alright, Prince Yuuri, we will concede to let you do this, but be careful and we will try to watch out for you when we can. Please wait until the morning to leave.” 

Yuuri agreed and watched with tears in his eyes as the members of his beloved court turned back into swans. They flew away from the courtyard into the night sky. Yuuri went back into the hunting lodge. He took stock of the supplies that he had found. He gathered what he could carry into an old satchel that had been left in the lodge. He also found a spare set of clothing and boots of his someone had stored there. Once he was all packed for his journey, he laid down on the bed and tried to get a little more sleep. He would need all the strength that he possessed to help free his friends from the curse. The next morning Yuuri got up early, changed into the clothes he had found, picked up his pack, looked around the lodge one last time, and set out to find the wise woman of the forest. He started out in high spirits. 

_I am going to help out my friends. Then we will see what we can do to get my kingdom back._

But as the day waned, Yuuri became tired. His legs began to hurt and he was hungry. He longed for the boring days of holding court where his every whim was attended to. When it got near to evening, he found a spot to set up camp near a stream and waited for his court to appear. A few minutes later, the swans landed near his campsite and turned into the men they had been before. They helped Yuuri set up his camp, raising Yuuri’s spirits. They reminded him why he was doing this. Once the men had turned back into swans, they settled themselves around Yuuri’s camp to rest and to help keep watch while the prince slept. The next morning, Yuuri woke up with sore legs and longing for his soft bed. He quickly ate breakfast, broke up his camp, and began his trek towards the wise woman’s cottage. The swans took flight and followed Yuuri as he made his way through the woods. 

A week later. . . 

Yuuri spotted a little cottage in a clearing. According to Phichit’s information, this was where the wise woman of the woods lived. 

_I certainly hope she lives here._

Yuuri knocked on the front door. A kind looking older woman opened the door.

She asked, “What can I do for you, my prince?”

Yuuri, startled, asked, “You know who I am?”

She replied, “Of course. I also know that you are supposedly dead and your court is supposed to have fled.”

Yuuri said, “You can see that the first part isn’t true. I am obviously quite alive.”

“That you are, my prince.”

“My court hasn’t fled, either. They have been turned into swans by an evil witch.”

At their mention, the swans came down out of the sky and settled themselves at Yuuri’s feet. 

Yuuri said, “I have come here to ask if you know how I can break their curse.”

The wise woman said, “Ah, the swan curse.”

“You know it?”

“That I do.”

“Do you know how to break it?”

“I do.”

“How? How do I break the curse cast upon my friends?”

“You are not going to like the answer, my prince.”

“I would do anything to help them recover their human forms.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“It is not an easy task that you have set for yourself.”

Yuuri nodded.

The wise woman continued, “You must make 6 shirts out of the patch of nettles in the clearing near my cabin. The nettles are sharp and will pierce your soft hands. They will bleed, my prince.”

“A worthy price to pay.”

“You also must not speak a word or laugh during the time you are making the shirts. If you do either of those things the curse will become permanent.”

“Okay, is that all?”

“You only have 6 years to make the shirts. One year for each of the swans.”

Yuuri nodded. “I will do it. I will set my friends free of this curse.” 

“I admire your resolve, my prince. You may stay with me while you make the shirts. I will make sure that you are taken care of.”

“I appreciate that, my lady.”

“Come in. Let us have a nice dinner. You may start your shirts on the morrow.”

Yuuri nodded and followed the wise woman into the house and helped her prepare the meal. As the sunset, the swans made their appearance.

Once in his human form, Phichit said, “Well, is there a way to break the curse?”

Yuuri nodded. “There is, but it is going to take me awhile to complete it.” 

He told his court what the wise woman had told him that afternoon. 

Minami said, “We can’t ask you to do that for us, my prince.”

Yuuri said, “I can and will do this for you.”

Leo said, “Can’t someone else do it?”

The wise woman replied, “No, it has to be someone with a link to all of you. The prince is the only possible person to break the curse.”

Guang-Hong said softly, “But your hands.”

Yuuri said, “They’ll survive. The pain I will feel is worth your freedom.”

Phichit said, “It really isn’t, my prince.”

Minami said, “It’s not so bad being a swan.”

Yuri said, “Yes, it fucking is. I for one don’t want to stay this way if the prince can and wants to free us. We all should be thankful we have such a worthy lord.”

Otabek nodded in agreement.

Yuuri said, “It’s settled. I'll start tomorrow.”

The men turned back into swans and Yuuri went to bed. The next morning he followed the wise woman to the nettle patch behind her cabin. He watched as she showed him how to harvest the nettles. When the first nettles pricked his fingers, he nearly cried out. He closed his eyes for a moment and let one tear fall from his eye. Then he continued to carefully harvest the nettles. He harvested nettles for one full day. He brought his bounty back to the cabin. That evening the wise woman showed Yuuri how to coax and weave the nettles into a semblance of material so that he could begin constructing the shirts for his men. At first, Yuuri’s hands bled every day and every evening one of his court spent their 20 minutes doctoring his hands. They cried for him for he couldn’t allow any sound to pass his lips. They begged him to reconsider and stop. However, Yuuri would simply shake his head at their pleas and continue working on their shirts. It took him a little over a year to finish the first shirt. He was a little concerned about getting all the shirts done within the required timeframe but he moved on to working on the second shirt. 


	2. King Victor

Yuuri found that on days with nice weather that it was pleasant to sit on the wise woman’s porch to work on the shirts. It was on one such lovely day that a man came by on a horse. He hailed Yuuri but Yuuri could not return his greeting. He did raise his hand and wave at the gentleman. The man moved on about the time the Wise Woman exited the house to see what the fuss was about. 

Yuuri pointed at the man and then lifted an eyebrow. 

The Wise Woman said, “That was Victor, he is the king of this kingdom. I wonder what he is doing out here alone. He usually has at least lord Giacometti with him.”

Yuuri shrugged and went back to weaving the shirts. The encounter slipped Yuuri’s mind until months later when the king came by the Wise Woman’s cabin again. This time the Wise Woman was sitting outside the cabin with Yuuri. Victor stopped and dismounted and then approached the cabin. 

The Wise Woman said, “Your Majesty.” As she stood and curtsied. 

Yuuri also stood and bowed. 

Victor said, “Let’s have none of that. Today just let me be a traveler in these woods.”

The Wise Woman asked, “And what would this traveler have of us?”

Victor replied, “For one, a name for this young man.”

The Wise Woman said, “He cannot talk and tell you himself, but his name is Yuuri.”

Victor said, “Yuuri?”

Yuuri nodded shyly at the king. 

Victor asked, “How did he come to be here?”

The Wise Woman said, “It is a long story that is not mine to tell.”

Victor looked disappointed but nodded. He stayed the afternoon with them, sitting with them on the porch, chatting with the Wise Woman and watching Yuuri.

When the sun started to hang low in the sky, the king stood and said, “I need to return to the castle now. May I return and visit?”

The Wise Woman said, “You may whenever it pleases your majesty to do so.”

Victor said, “Thank you.”

He mounted his horse and rode back towards his castle. When he was out of sight Yuuri looked at the Wise Woman with a questioning look.

She said, “Well, it’s not like I could tell the King no, now could I?”

Yuuri just shrugged and continued working on the shirt he had been working on all afternoon. Victor came by often to chat with the Wise Woman or to just hang out on the porch with Yuuri. 

After a year of Yuuri’s company, the king asked Yuuri, “Will you marry me and be my consort?” 

Yuuri’s face was one of shock but then he began to turn over the idea of marrying the king. 

_I want to marry the king. He is so nice and kind. I had heard about him before all this happened. I had hoped back then that we would have become friends. But I’m not really fit to be his consort._

Yuuri started to shake his head no, but Victor looked into his eyes and said, “Please, Yuuri. I cannot imagine life without you. I’ll keep visiting you here if I must but I’d rather take you home with me.”

Yuuri blushed and nodded. Yuuri held up three fingers. 

Victor asked, “Three days? You’ll be ready to leave in three days?”

Yuuri nodded. 

Victor smiled and said, “I’ll come back for you then.”

Yuuri smiled as Victor left. Yuuri packed the two shirts he had made and enough nettles to make the rest of the shirts. He was in the midst of packing when his friends came for their nightly visit.

Phichit asked, “Are you going somewhere?”

The Wise Woman replied, “King Victor asked him to marry him and be his consort.”

Leo said, “You are getting married. That is wonderful.”

Yuuri blushed. 

Yuri asked, “Is he a good king? If he is bad to you, Otabek and I will peck him to death.”

Yuuri nearly laughed at the image of two swans chasing Victor.

Yuuri shook his head. 

The Wise Woman said, “By all accounts, he is a good man and good king. I have not heard any ill of him.”

Phichit replied, “That’s good. Our Yuuri deserves the best.”

Yuuri shyly ducked his head, clearly embarrassed by Phichit’s words. 

Guang-Hong said, “Can we come with you?” 

Yuuri looked at the Wise Woman. 

She answered, “There is a pond on the castle grounds. You could stay there. People may think it is odd that swans suddenly decided to make their home there, but I don’t think you’ll be in any danger.”

Phichit nodded and said, “Then we are coming with you, just in case.”

Yuuri nodded. 

Otabek asked, “When do you leave?”

Yuuri held up three fingers.

Otabek said, “Three days?”

Yuuri nodded. 

Otabek said, “We’ll be ready.”

The boys exited the cabin when their twenty minutes were up and flew out of the yard. 

Three days later. . . 

Victor rode up to the cabin on the specified third day. Yuuri was all packed and ready to go. Victor loaded the saddlebags on the horse with Yuuri’s things and then watched as Yuuri mounted the horse on his own. 

Victor chuckled and said, “Guess you have ridden before.”

Yuuri nodded. He turned to wave goodbye to the Wise Woman who had helped him so much. 

Victor climbed up behind Yuuri. Yuuri let his body lean into Victor’s. Victor took a sharp breath in. He then started the horseback towards the castle. As they neared the castle, they saw people lining the roads. 

Victor said, “I guess they are curious to see you.”

Yuuri blushed but waved at the people as they passed. 

*****

Yuuri stayed in the castle as they prepared for the wedding. It took several months to get all the clothes and decorations up to Victor’s standard. The day of the wedding dawned beautifully. The weather was clear and not too warm and not too cold. It was perfect. Yuuri was dressed in a white tunic and soft white breeches. He smiled as he walked down the aisle to join Victor at the altar. Victor repeated his vows. Even though Yuuri couldn’t repeat his, he nodded his head vehemently in assent after the priest read his vows. 

The priest said, “I now pronounce you King and consort. You may kiss your consort.” 

Victor and Yuuri shared a passionate kiss at the altar and all the nobility present cheered. Victor took Yuuri’s hand and led him outside the church. Outside in the courtyard, there were tables set up that held plate after plate of food. 

Victor said, “I have invited my subjects to celebrate with us today.” 

Yuuri smiled as the guards let in the common people to share in the food and celebration of the day. The king made a wonderful speech and all the common folk cheered as they enjoyed the food that the king had provided. As the afternoon turned into evening, Victor and Yuuri went back inside the castle. They ate a celebratory dinner with Victor’s court and then retired to their bed. 

****

Sometime later. . . 

Yuuri sat in a window seat overlooking the garden that had a pond. The pond had acquired six swans the day that Yuuri came to the palace. No one seemed to make the connection. Many wondered where the swans came from and why they never left. Yuuri liked to watch their antics while he worked on their shirts. He watched as Yuri the swan chased another courtier around the garden. The courtier had made the mistake of coming too close to Otabek. Yuri was honking and hissing as he chased the poor man right out of the garden. Yuuri smiled and would have laughed at the sight had he been able. When the courtier left the garden, he waddled back to where Otabek had been sunning himself. Otabek gave him a look that said you didn’t have to do that. Yuri ruffled his feathers and sent a look back that said shut up. 

The courtier, catching his breath, said, “The swans are beautiful but that one is vicious. Why doesn’t the king get rid of it? It would be a simple task for the huntsman.”

His friend replied, “Evidently, the consort is overly fond of all of the swans.”

He pointed to the window where Yuuri sat.

He continued, “See? He watches them almost every day. The king is not going to harm something that means so much to his consort.”

The courtier said, “True. He has a soft spot for his consort.”

His friend replied, “As it should be.”

They watched as the king also came to the window and sat down beside his consort. The king looked fondly at Yuuri, watching him as he continued to work on the shirts that Victor never saw him without. 

Victor sighed. “I wish you could tell me why these are so important to you. I know it hurts you to make them.”

Yuuri thought _I wish I could too. I wish I could tell you how happy you make me. I’ll be done soon. Please be patient with me, Victor._

Yuuri reached out and cupped Victor’s cheek, hoping to convey his fondness for the King through the touch. Victor smiled and took the scarred hand into his own. He leaned down and kissed the palm of Yuuri’s hand. 

Yuuri blushed. 

Victor said, “I wish you would stop making those hellish shirts. I hate to see you hurt.”

Yuuri just looked at the King with sad eyes. He tried to smile as he shook his head and continued working on his shirts. Victor sighed. 

They both turned to look out the window as they heard an irritated voice exclaim, “Really? Why me? Shoo! Shoo! Begone, bird.”

Both men looked out the window to see Chris, one of Victor’s advisors and a close friend, being followed by one of the swans. Chris made a shooing motion at the swan. Chris sighed as the swan, unfazed, continued to follow Chris around the garden. Victor chuckled as Chris sat down on a bench near the pond only to have the swan curl up at his feet. They looked away from the window, gazing at each other for a moment. 

Eventually, Victor stood up, softly kissed Yuuri, and said, “I have a few things left to do today. See you at dinner?”

Yuuri nodded and sadly watched as Victor left the sitting room to go attend to his kingly duties.

**Author's Note:**

> Come by and say hello to me on [tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/auronevardell) or join us on the [ 18OI Discord Channel ](https://discord.gg/TYMxcAB)


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